Being a U.S. war criminal means never having to say sorry. Paul Tibbets, the
man who flew the Enola Gay and destroyed Hiroshima, lived to the impressive
age of 92 without publicly expressing guilt for what he had done. He had
even reenacted his infamous mission at a 1976 Texas air show, complete with
a mushroom cloud, and later said he never meant this to be offensive. In
contrast, he called it a “damn big insult” when the Smithsonian planned an
exhibit in 1995 showing some of the damage the bombing caused.

We might understand a man not coming to terms with his most important
contribution to human history being such a destructive act. But what about
the rest of the country?

It’s sickening that Americans even debate the atomic bombings, as they do
every year in early August. Polls in recent years reveal overwhelming
majorities of the American public accepting the acts as necessary.